Accumulation of ice on aircraft wings and other aircraft structures during flight is a known issue. A variety of techniques have been used to remove ice from aircraft during flight including chemical deicing (applying chemicals to aircraft structures to reduce ice adhesion forces or reduce the freezing point of water that collects on the aircraft), thermal deicing (actively heating aircraft structures to prevent ice formation or loosen accumulated ice), and pneumatic deicing (using inflatable elements to expand the profile of an aircraft structure to crack accumulated ice).
Some state of the art pneumatic deicers (sometimes called deicer boots) employ a neoprene or polyester urethane outer layer positioned over a natural rubber inner layer, which is connected to an aircraft structure. Inflation tubes are positioned between the inner layer and the aircraft structure. The inflation tubes inflate causing portions of the outer and inner layers to move away from the aircraft structure. This movement deforms the outer layer so that ice that has accumulated on the outer layer cracks and is shed from the outer layer. Neoprene and polyester urethane outer layers generally possess adequate toughness, wind and sand erosion resistance, and chemical resistance to fuel and oil, but do not generally retract well at low temperatures. The natural rubber inner layer is used to improve the elasticity and retractability of the outer layer. The present disclosure describes improved compositions for deicer boots.